Men’s gymnastics: Buckeyes put together best performance of the season against Michigan in victory

Daneyliz Rodriguez
Sun, 05 Feb 2017 15:53:38 +0000
Gymnastics, Sports, Buckeyes, logan melander, michigan, ohio state men's gymnastics, St. John Arena, Tristan Burke

Ohio State sophomore Tristan Burke performs on floor against Michigan at St. John Arena on Feb. 4. Credit: Daneyliz Rodriguez | Lantern reporter

The Ohio State men’s gymnastics team was victorious at Saturday’s co-ed dual home meet against Michigan at St. John Arena with a final score of 422.200 against Michigan’s 404.950.

After the first rotation on the floor, the Buckeyes already had an advantage over the Wolverines with a score of 68.100, while the Wolverines earned a 67.150.

The Buckeyes proved triumphant on the pummel horse, as well, after receiving a score of 72.250 against Michigan’s 66.000. Redshirt junior Jake Dastrup received the highest pommel horse score on the team (14.90), the third best in the nation.

On the still rings and vault, the Buckeyes received the best overall score of 69.300 and 71.450 respectively, extending their lead over Michigan following the fourth rotation with a running score of 281.100.

Similarly, on the parallel and high bars, the Buckeyes received the highest scores of 71.900 and 69.200.

Redshirt juniors Sean Melton and Dastrup received first place on floor with a score of 14.4 and on the parallel bars with a score of 14.7. Sophomore Tristan Burke placed first on the still rings with a score of 14.150. Redshirt senior captain Jake Martin was awarded first place on the horizontal bars with a score of 14.85.

The team’s victory was followed by a ceremony dedicated to the senior athletes. For the seniors, this meet was their last at St. John Arena.

“It’s pretty emotional because it’s been a difficult run-through in my college career, so to come out here and be able to do this was amazing,” Martin said. “I mean a year ago, I tore my achilles … a lot of people doubted if I’d be able to even do six events, so to come out here and do six events is the greatest memory I will have at Ohio State.”

OSU coach Rustam Sharipov was more than pleased with his team’s performance which yielded a season-high team score.

“Some of the scores were high and the guys, they worked for that,” Sharipov said. “The seniors did a good job and it’s always nice to finish your last meet at St. John Arena on a good note with Michigan coming and the rivalry and senior night, so I think it’s good. We had a lot of stakes … I’m proud of the guys for stepping up. Overall I’m happy with their performance because every weekend we keep improving little by little, so I’m happy.”

Up next, the Buckeyes will face Penn State in a co-ed dual meet at State College, Pennsylvania, on Feb. 11.